ONI Country Profi le
247
offi cial stated that the purpose of the crackdown was to track illegal Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP) operators — however, he was unable to explain why house-to-house
searches were being conducted.
50
There have not been reports of surveillance since the end of the state of emergency.
A notable exception is a 2009 Freedom House report that suggested that journalists ’
e-mails were being monitored and that some journalists had been required to submit
their personal online passwords to intelligence offi cers during questioning.
51
ONI Testing Results
In October 2009, testing was conducted on two Bangladeshi ISPs, BDCOM Online and
GrameenPhone. BDCOM Online is a publicly owned company and provides Internet
services to consumers and the majority of solutions for small- to large-scale ISPs in
Bangladesh. GrameenPhone is a leading mobile operator and the largest ISP in Bangladesh with more than 23 million subscribers in urban and rural areas nationwide.
52
The tests revealed no evidence of fi ltering in any of the categories tested.
Conclusion
The Bangladeshi state sees ICTs as positive enablers of socioeconomic development
and has been working toward digitizing the country. This effort has been refl ected in
state initiatives to strengthen equal access to ICTs across the country, including the
installation of computer labs in schools and community e-centers, as well as developing Internet infrastructure for the country and making the Internet more affordable
to citizens.
The current Bangladeshi government has reversed many of the rules that were in
place during the state of emergency. The press has gained back much of the freedom
it lost during that period. However, the government appears to maintain a distrust of
opposition media, which is consistent with existing laws that regulate content, including Internet content. On two occasions, the state has blocked Web sites for “ subversive ” and anti-Islamic content. Nonetheless, ONI testing revealed no evidence of
fi ltering on BDCOM Online and GrameenPhone, and there have been no reports of
ongoing Web site fi ltering in Bangladesh.
Notes
1. “ Next JS Must Review All Ordinances, ” Daily Star , December 13, 2008, http://www.thedailystar
.net/story.php?nid=66906 .
2. “ Bangladesh Court Jails More Guards over Deadly Mutiny, ” BBC News, April 18, 2010, http://
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8628368.stm .
247
offi cial stated that the purpose of the crackdown was to track illegal Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP) operators — however, he was unable to explain why house-to-house
searches were being conducted.
50
There have not been reports of surveillance since the end of the state of emergency.
A notable exception is a 2009 Freedom House report that suggested that journalists ’
e-mails were being monitored and that some journalists had been required to submit
their personal online passwords to intelligence offi cers during questioning.
51
ONI Testing Results
In October 2009, testing was conducted on two Bangladeshi ISPs, BDCOM Online and
GrameenPhone. BDCOM Online is a publicly owned company and provides Internet
services to consumers and the majority of solutions for small- to large-scale ISPs in
Bangladesh. GrameenPhone is a leading mobile operator and the largest ISP in Bangladesh with more than 23 million subscribers in urban and rural areas nationwide.
52
The tests revealed no evidence of fi ltering in any of the categories tested.
Conclusion
The Bangladeshi state sees ICTs as positive enablers of socioeconomic development
and has been working toward digitizing the country. This effort has been refl ected in
state initiatives to strengthen equal access to ICTs across the country, including the
installation of computer labs in schools and community e-centers, as well as developing Internet infrastructure for the country and making the Internet more affordable
to citizens.
The current Bangladeshi government has reversed many of the rules that were in
place during the state of emergency. The press has gained back much of the freedom
it lost during that period. However, the government appears to maintain a distrust of
opposition media, which is consistent with existing laws that regulate content, including Internet content. On two occasions, the state has blocked Web sites for “ subversive ” and anti-Islamic content. Nonetheless, ONI testing revealed no evidence of
fi ltering on BDCOM Online and GrameenPhone, and there have been no reports of
ongoing Web site fi ltering in Bangladesh.
Notes
1. “ Next JS Must Review All Ordinances, ” Daily Star , December 13, 2008, http://www.thedailystar
.net/story.php?nid=66906 .
2. “ Bangladesh Court Jails More Guards over Deadly Mutiny, ” BBC News, April 18, 2010, http://
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8628368.stm .